Blogalicious 2009, Reflection

I sit here on my flight back from Blogalicious 2009, a conference celebrating women bloggers, in particular (though not exclusively) women of color and encouraging them to come together and celebrate their diversity and their love for blogging. It was the first of its kind, brought together by the force that are the women behind Mama Law.

I had the priviledge to serve as Official Photographer for the event, thus having the opportunity to meet and interact with pretty much everyone who spoke, attended, and worked at the event.  It made for beautiful connections and interesting conversations, but most importantly, I was able to capture beautiful moments of the event.

As I look back at the pictures and connect them in my memory to the conversations that were had, I am reminded of the beauty of the human spirit, and of the power of dreams, focus, and hard work. I walk away from this experience feeling both larger than life and smaller in the world. I walk away feeling proud and humble, confident and scared. Feeling like I’ve come so far and realizing I have so far to go.

And all these emotions, all these feelings, all these thoughts are so incredibly important to help me keep things in perspective, to bring me back to the basics of things.

Renee Ross (Cutie Booty Cakes), Niri (Mommy Niri), and MJ Tam (City Connect Media, Inc.) reminded us that success is determined by one’s individual definition of the word and measures accordingly.  So there may be those who we see in life as falling short, where in reality, in their reality, they walk around feeling, believing, they have arrived. Do not measure your worth and your accomplishments by the worth and accomplishments of others.

And this is because, as Karen Walrond, of Chookooloonks reminded us, we are all different and it is The Beauty of Difference that should be celebrated and fostered within ourselves so that we may stand out above the rest.

And though marketers reminded us that, in fact, to them we are often measured and valued by the numbers and statistics attached to our inspirations and words, others clarified that the potential of promise and the strength of our connections can be far more powerful than any information found on a spread sheet.

Many speakers, many messages of inspiration, empowerment, and encouragement. These flow through my mind as I look out into the clouds of my small airplane window.

I am not sure what life has in store for me. I look toward the memories of my mother’s wise voice for guidance. I know my worth.  I know I am destined for great things, but not sure what form my success will take before I am able to recognize it as so.  Maybe I am already living it.  I have often seen my loving, happy home as my greatest accomplishment.  But how do I measure up as a friend, a mother, a wife, a writer, a photographer, and all the many other things I strive to be?

When my mother passed away I felt I lost my footing, my sense of self. In all the sadness that surrounded me as a child, she was always my guiding light out of it. Even when I was no longer in that dark place, I looked to her for direction, advice, answers.  But now she is gone, and I am left to figure it all out on my own. I want to make her proud, because she deserves to see the fruit of her labor succeed.  I owe her that, but sometimes, I fail, and I forget.

And then experiences like Blogalicious happen.  Where I realize that regardless of how we all got there, we got there, or are getting there, and we are all looking for answers, for ways to be better, for ways to connect. I hope that no matter what our goals where for going, no matter what goals we set for ourselves as we leave, that we all walked away with a deep understanding for the value of the mark we leave behind as we connect with others we meet along the way.

Because in the end, when we reach the end of our road, it is this mark we left behind, and the affect we had on others, that will really define our life and accomplishments. Congratulations to Justice Fergie, Justice Jonesie, and Justice Ny for leaving their mark with Blogalicious 2009 and for affecting others in such a powerful way. Congratulations to all the speakers and presenters for being such a positive and powerful symbol and helping make this experience such a great one for us all.

The rest is up to us. We are left to bring what we learned, what was given, to fruition. It is up to us to really think about the mark we will leave behind and to determine how we want to be remembered.

Whether you are a blogger or not, a travel lover like me, or not, life is a journey…make this Adventure one worth sharing for years to come.

Photos taken by Carol Cain for Blogalicious 2009 will soon be available for view on the Blogalicious 2009 website and their Flickr page. Please contact Carol Cain at carol[at]nycitymama[dot]com for permission to use photos. All photos must be accredited to the same.

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